SUPER BOWL WATCH: 49ers surge after power goes out

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Around the Super Bowl and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of everything surrounding the game:

NEW ORLEANS (AP)  Around the Super Bowl and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of everything surrounding the game:

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A BALLGAME AGAIN

Let the conspiracy theories begin!

After failing to score a touchdown in the first half and looking downright dismal offensively, the San Francisco 49ers have been unstoppable since the lights in the Superdome came back on and are now down by just five points. For those scoring at home, that's 17 points in four minutes, 10 seconds.

Still think that fake field goal on fourth-and-9 was a good idea, John Harbaugh?

After Colin Kaepernick's 14-yard pass to Vernon Davis put the Niners at the Baltimore 6 and Frank Gore ran it on the next play to make it 28-20. Baltimore had the ball for all of two plays when Ray Rice fumbled and San Francisco cornerback Tarell Brown recovered at the Baltimore 24.

The 49ers only managed three yards, and David Akers' 39-yard field goal attempt was wide left. But hold on  San Francisco's newfound luck continued, with the Ravens getting whistled for running into the kicker. That's a 5-yard penalty, and Akers made this one to cut Baltimore's lead to 28-23.

 Nancy Armour  http://www.twitter.com/nrarmour

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RALLY TIME?

Hey, the San Francisco 49ers scored a touchdown!

And 49ers fans everywhere collectively say, "Finally!"

Michael Crabtree caught a 31-yard touchdown pass with about 7 ½ minutes left in the third quarter to cut Baltimore's lead to 28-13. San Francisco's only other points came on a pair of field goals by David Akers.

Don't get too excited yet, Niners fans. Your team is still down by 15 and no team has ever trailed by more than 10 and come back to win the Super Bowl.

 Nancy Armour  http://twitter.com/nrarmour

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STAT OF THE DAY: 84 MINS REST

This stat of the day comes from CBS, which tracked how long Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense were off the field from halftime through a 109-yard kickoff return and a nearly 30-minute power outage.

That total: 84 minutes, about the equivalent of a children's animated film.

When the Ravens did take the field again, they punted without getting a first down.

 Oskar Garcia  http://twitter.com/oskargarcia .

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QUICKQUOTE: JEROME BOGER

The head referee officiating the Super Bowl simply wanted to get the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers back to business.

To get play started, Jerome Boger simply stated: "Let's go."

The clock began rolling and play resumed.

 Oskar Garcia  http://twitter.com/oskargarcia

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PLAY BALL!

Well, that was interesting.

Following a delay of 35 minutes caused by a power outage in the Superdome, the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers are back out on the field. And no jokes about how the Niners haven't allowed any points in a half-hour.

The Ravens had just scored to take a 28-6 lead when lights throughout the Superdome went dark. There was limited emergency power in the concourses and at the top of the dome, but the scoreboards and most of the lights were out.

The lights gradually began coming back on after about 25 minutes, and a loud buzz could be heard. Players returned to the field and, after 10 more minutes, play resumed with 13:22 left in the third quarter.

 Nancy Armour  http://twitter.com/nrarmour

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1H AD HIGHLIGHTS

Here are some of the funnier highlights of the Super Bowl commercials during the first half:

 Best Buy's 30-second ad in the first quarter starred Amy Poehler, of NBC's "Parks and Recreation," asking a Best Buy employee endless questions about electronics.

"Will this one read '50 shades of Grey' to me in a sexy voice," Poehler asks about an e-book reader. When the staffer says no she asks, "Will you?"

 M&M's showed its red M singing Meatloaf's "I Would Do Anything For Love," and wooing beautiful women, but stopping short when they try to eat him.

 Doritos went for humor with two user-created spots. Winners of the "Crash the Super Bowl" contest included one about a Doritos-crazy goat. Another showed a dad playing princess with his daughter to get Doritos. His buddies catch him, but instead of making fun of him they join in the fun. "Is that my wedding dress?" says his wife when she sees them playing.

 Budweiser showed rival 49ers and Ravens fans each creating a voodoo doll for the other team with the help of a mysterious figure in a bar. "It's only weird if it doesn't work," reads the copy.

 Mae Anderson  http://twitter.com/maetron

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ALI WATCHING, DAUGHTER SAYS

One of Muhammad Ali's daughters says the boxer is watching the Super Bowl at his home in Arizona.

May May Ali knocked down rumors of her father being near death on Sunday, telling The Associated Press she spoke with him by phone on Sunday morning.

"He's fine, in fact he was talking well this morning," she said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "These rumors pop up every once in a while but there's nothing to them."

The rumors were started by a report in a British tabloid quoting Ali's brother, Rahman, as saying the former heavyweight champion was near death. Rahman, though, said he hadn't seen his brother since last summer and had no contact with the family.

The report was widely repeated on the Internet. Ali, 71, suffers from Parkinson's disease.

 Tim Dahlberg  http://twitter.com/timdahlberg

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POWER OUTAGE

The power has gone out at the Superdome during the third quarter of the Super Bowl.

Minutes after Baltimore scored on a 109-yard Jacoby Jones kickoff return to take a 28-6 lead, several banks of arena lights went out in the dome. Emergency lights went on but play was immediately halted.

Players are standing on the field but when it became clear it would not be a brief outage, they left the field and went to the sideline.

Several of the Ravens are sitting on the field, stretching to try to keep loose.

Lights are on outside the dome; the outage appears confined to the arena.

Just Beyonce, then Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams to bring back Destiny's Child.

Beyonce sang a medley of hits, including "Crazy In Love," ''Baby Boy" and "Single Ladies." She also danced in front of a screen using multiple images of herself as a backup dancer when she wasn't backed by her all-female band and nearly two dozen dancers.

But when Rowland and Williams sprang up from trap doors onstage, the world got the performance it was anticipating.

Not surprisingly, the show dominated worldwide Twitter trends as the second half began.

 Oskar Garcia  http://twitter.com/oskargarcia

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DAVID AKERS, 49ERS HERO. WHO KNEW?

Raise your hand if you had David Akers scoring all of San Francisco's points in the first half.

Yeah, didn't think so.

San Francisco's much-maligned kicker made two field goals, accounting for the 49ers' only points in what's shaping up to be a Baltimore rout. The Ravens have a 21-6 lead at halftime, and no team has ever come back to win the Super Bowl after trailing more than 10.

 Nancy Armour  http://twitter.com/nrarmour

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GAME OVER, MAYBE NOT, BUT RAVENS SCORE AGAIN

The Baltimore Ravens are making a serious case for just awarding the Lombardi Trophy at halftime.

Joe Flacco threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones, who made San Francisco cornerback Chris Culliver look silly once again. This time, though, it wasn't for anything Culliver said.

Jones caught the ball at the 9, and Culliver completely whiffed on the tackle. Safety Dashon Goldson wasn't much better, running right by Jones when he came in to help. Jones then sprinted untouched into the end zone.

It was the 11th touchdown pass this postseason for Joe Flacco, matching an NFL record.

And, just a reminder, no team has ever been down by more than 10 points and come back to win the Super Bowl.

 Nancy Armour  http://twitter.com/nrarmour

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PAST HALFTIME SNAFUS

As Beyonce prepares for her halftime show, many across the country will be looking as much for snafus as for highlights.

Last year, it was British singer M.I.A. giving the finger to 114 million people watching the halftime show. NBC censors were less than a second away from catching it.

And in 2004, Janet Jackson defined Super Bowl performance snafus when her wardrobe malfunction left a nipple exposed briefly to the audience.

 Oskar Garcia  http://twitter.com/oskargarcia

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HEAD SCRATCHING PLAY

What the heck were the Baltimore Ravens thinking on that call?

Lined up for a 31-yard field goal on fourth-and-9, the Ravens went for the fake. Did we mention it was fourth-and-9? Kicker Justin Tucker got eight, and the Ravens turned the ball over on downs.

Had they kicked the field goal, they would have went up by two touchdowns.

Hey, at least they're still up 14-3.

 Nancy Armour  http://twitter.com/nrarmour

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THAT'S NOT WHAT KAEPERNICK WANTED TO DO

This is starting to get ugly for the San Francisco 49ers.

They already trail 14-3, a larger deficit than any team has ever come back from to win the Super Bowl. On the first play after Baltimore's second score, Colin Kaepernick was intercepted. He was looking for Randy Moss but didn't come anywhere close, making for easy pickings by Ed Reed.

It was Reed's ninth career interception in the postseason.

Some pushing and shoving followed, but the refs quickly stepped in to separate the players.

 Nancy Armour  http://twitter.com/nrarmour

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RAVENS GET ASSIST FROM NINERS ON SECOND TD

The Baltimore Ravens got an assist from the San Francisco 49ers on their latest touchdown.

Ed Dickson's 14-yard catch was a huge gain for the Ravens as is, bringing them to the San Francisco 15. But the 49ers got 15 more yards out of the play because Donte Whitner hauled Dickson down by his face mask  a big no-no.

Two plays later, Flacco found Dennis Pitta for a 1-yard score that gave Baltimore a 14-3 lead. And the second quarter is only half over.

Oh, more bad news for the Niners? No team has ever trailed by more than 10 and come back to win the Super Bowl.

 Nancy Armour  http://twitter.com/nrarmour

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REP: KEYS DIDN'T LIP SYNC

In case you were wondering, a spokeswoman for Alicia Keys says the singer did not lip sync during her national anthem at the Super Bowl.

Whether she would or wouldn't became a public debate after Beyonce admitted lip syncing the song at President Barack Obama's recent inauguration.

Beyonce made up for it by belting out a live version at her Super Bowl press conference earlier this week. She's the game's halftime performer  and says she'll sing fully live.

 Mesfin Fekadu http://twitter.com/musicmesfin

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GOT TO HOLD ONTO THE FOOTBALL

FUMBLE!!!

The San Francisco 49ers stopped themselves when the Baltimore Ravens couldn't. After advancing to the Baltimore 24 yard line with first downs on three of their previous four plays, the 49ers turned the ball over on a fumble by LaMichael James.

The rookie running back spun away from Ravens safety Bernard Pollard only to be slammed by cornerback Corey Graham and linebacker Courtney Upshaw. The ball popped loose and San Francisco's drive was over.

 Nancy Armour  http://twitter.com/nrarmour

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FIELD GOAL FOR NINERS BETTER THAN NOTHING

The San Francisco 49ers settled for a 36-yard field goal, cutting Baltimore's lead to 7-3, after Colin Kaepernick was sacked on third down.

Kaepernick and the Niners picked apart that stingy Baltimore defense on the drive, with Ray Lewis getting beat so badly on several plays it looked as if he'd already retired. A 24-yard catch by Vernon Davis put San Francisco at the Baltimore 8, and Kaepernick went deep to the end zone. But Michael Crabtree couldn't snag the ball, and it looked as if he might have tipped it, too, making it impossible for Randy Moss to grab, either.

Kaepernick was then sacked by Paul Kruger for a 10-yard loss, forcing them to kick the field goal. But David Akers, who has struggled all season, came through.

 Nancy Armour  http://twitter.com/nrarmour

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RAVENS SCORE FIRST

The Baltimore Ravens are on the board first, taking a 7-0 lead on the San Francisco 49ers.

Baltimore caught a break when the 49ers were called for a penalty on third down, extending the Ravens' drive. On the next play, Joe Flacco found Anquan Boldin for a 13-yard touchdown.

Flacco has now thrown nine touchdowns in the postseason and no interceptions.

 Nancy Armour  http://twitter.com/nrarmour

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ANTHEM: PIANO AND KEYS

Alicia Keys' national anthem before the Super Bowl was simple:

Just her in a red gown, singing and playing a white piano on the field.

Keys became a trending topic on Twitter after the anthem.

 Oskar Garcia  http://twitter.com/oskargarcia .

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EMOTIONAL KICKOFF

The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers have a tough act to follow after an emotional performance by the chorus from Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The chorus, which featured 26 children from the Newtown, Conn., school where 20 first-graders and six adults were killed in a shooting rampage Dec. 14, were joined by Jennifer Hudson for "America the Beautiful" before the start of the Super Bowl. The kids came out first, dressed simply in khakis and white polo shirts, a green ribbon pinned to the right side of their shirts. Several were smiling as the Super Bowl crowd rose to give them a standing ovation. They sang the first chorus, their voices high and sweet with innocence, before Hudson joined them.

Hudson's mother and nephew were shot to death five years ago by her former brother-in-law.

It was a powerful image, and Ravens nose tackle Terrence Cody appeared to be crying as he listened with his head tilted back, his eyes closed. Baltimore coach John Harbaugh stood with his left arm draped over the shoulder of his daughter, Allison.

The children were given another ovation as they left the field.

 Nancy Armour  http://twitter.com/nrarmour

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NO SQUIRREL DANCE

Ray Lewis was one of the last Baltimore Ravens to enter the field, but he didn't do his signature Squirrel dance.

He skipped out, then walked to the bench and took a seat.

The San Francisco 49ers took the field second.

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EARLY AD WINNER: LONE RANGER

Chalk up one early ad victory this Super Bowl: Disney's "The Lone Ranger."

The film's title and actor Johnny Depp became worldwide trending topics on Twitter after a commercial teasing a trailer before the game began.

The movie is set to hit theaters this summer.

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STORM RECOVERING

Hannah Storm has kept a busy schedule in New Orleans, but the ESPN anchor admits she's still trying to adjust while recovering from a propane grill accident that left her seriously injured.

"I've been really tired, and at times, sometimes in pain," Storm says.

Storm was using her propane gas grill at home in December when the flame when out. When she went to relight it, there was an explosion. Storm suffered second-degree burns on her chest and hands and first-degree burns to her face and neck. She lost her eyebrows and eyelashes, and roughly half her hair.

With makeup and hair extensions, it's hard to tell she was hurt. She's back anchoring and is finishing up a documentary on basketball player Sheryl Swoopes for the network. She also has an NBA primetime interview series, "Face to Face with Hannah Storm," set to air before the playoffs.

She said she feels grateful to be in New Orleans to spread a message of grill safety.

"Super Bowl Sunday is the No. 1 grilling day of the winter, so it's been a real blessing to be able to sort of pass that message along and hopefully help people be safe while they're having fun," she said.

 Nekesa Mumbi Moody http://twitter.com/nekesamumbi

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FINAL PREGAME HUDDLES DONE

Both the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers are back in the locker rooms after huddling on the field one last time during warmups.

Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis led his team in its huddle as San Francisco kicked some last-minute field goals.

The 49er huddled up roughly 5 minutes later.

 Nancy Armour  http://twitter.com/nrarmour

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INACTIVES FOR RAVENS, 49ERS

Neither the Baltimore Ravens nor the San Francisco 49ers have any last minute changes to their starting lineups for the Super Bowl.

The San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens are warming up on the field of the Superdome in New Orleans.

San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh and Baltimore coach John Harbaugh traded a handshake, hug and some brief words at midfield as players stretched and got loose.

Kickoff is scheduled for about 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

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SUPERDOME THEN AND NOW

AP national sports columnist Tim Dahlberg was in the Superdome ago after Hurricane Katrina nearly eight years ago. He shares his thoughts as the arena hosts the NFL title game:

I wanted to go see Tom Benson's suite, but it was occupied. One of the benefits of owning the New Orleans Saints is a suite at this Super Bowl.

I had been there before, just after the Superdome was emptied of refugees from Hurricane Katrina. It was dark and the stench was almost unbearable, with the liquor all gone and the toilet filled and overflowing.

A few of New Orleans' finest who had ridden out the storm in the dome with about 25,000 people gave me a tour, guided by flashlight. There were holes in the roof, litter everywhere, and a smell of human misery that was almost indescribable.

They told me of bodies lying in the stench, of a man who jumped to his death from one of the upper levels rather than endure the ongoing misery.

Parts of New Orleans have been rebuilt in the wake of the 2005 storm that wreaked such havoc. The Superdome itself was repaired, at a cost of hundreds of millions.

In the dome on Sunday the stage is set for America's biggest sporting event. There's not a lot of ambiance in the dome because, well, it is a dome, but some 70,000 people will sit in air conditioned comfort with food and drink only a few steps away.

Benson's suite, I'm sure, is even more lavish than it once was.

My guess is they refilled the liquor cabinet, too.

 Tim Dahlberg  http://twitter.com/timdahlberg

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EDITOR'S NOTE  "Super Bowl Watch" shows you the Super Bowl and the events surrounding the game through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across New Orleans and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.